


A Sweet, Sure Thing

by misura



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Not Canon Compliant - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 16:31:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16222976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Kylo Ren can't remember a time when he didn't have another person in his head.





	A Sweet, Sure Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lucymonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucymonster/gifts).



Kylo Ren can't remember a time when he didn't have another person in his head.

It used to be only Ben - poor, lost Ben Solo, still hoping for his mother to come and save him, for his father to tell him, _'I love you'_. Ben, and sometimes Snoke.

For a long time, he believed that Snoke was like Ben: always there, always listening, always watching. He knows better now. Snoke isn't as clever as he thinks he is.

( _Yes, he is,_ Ben says. Kylo ignores him as he always does.)

( _No, you don't._ )

And then, suddenly, there's Rey.

 

Rey isn't as strong in the Force as Snoke - or maybe she simply doesn't feel any need to be sneaky, to mask her presence.

_Is this what you're doing all day? Meetings?_

Hux is presenting the quarterly report on something or another. Kylo is there to show his face - ( _not your real face,_ Ben says, _you never show people your real face_ ). In theory, he supposes his presence might be interpreted as support for Hux, not that Hux would need or want any.

 _What did you think I was doing all day?_ he replies. _The First Order's goal is to put an end to chaos and disorder. Meetings are a part of that. Think of them as a necessary evil, if you want._

 _It sounds boring,_ Rey says.

 _Distract me,_ Kylo invites. _Where are you? Who is with you?_

_Nowhere. Nobody._

Kylo remembers a time when he touched her mind - the sea and the island. Remembers saying, _'You're so lonely'_. Remembers feeling sorry for her (no, that was Ben).

 _You don't have to be alone if you don't want to be,_ he says.

 _Duh,_ Rey says. _Why do you think I'm talking to you?_

 

Rey is more fun to talk to than Ben. She's a little wary, a little shy, but curious, open to new experiences, different points of view.

 _What_ is _that?_

Kylo stares down at his cup. _Coffee._

 _It tastes awful,_ Rey says.

 _It helps keep me awake._ Meetings in the morning, meetings in the afternoon: nobody ever said life in the First Order would be easy.

Kylo kind of wishes someone had warned him about how boring it would be, though. Hux seems to enjoy these sorts of things: numbers and reports and working out the best way to distribute supplies and labor and troops.

 _You're wearing a helmet,_ Rey says, though he isn't right now. He's by himself, reading. _You could sleep right through it, and nobody would notice._

_That would be very irresponsible._

_So have you? You can tell me, you know. I'm not going to tell on you._

_Perhaps once or twice,_ Kylo says. Hux gets worked up sometimes, when he feels people are failing to live up to his expectations. It's hard to nap through something like that.

On the plus side, Hux seems to be the only one who actually notices when Kylo isn't paying attention. He finds it annoying, which Kylo finds amusing.

 _Ha! I knew it._ Rey sounds happy, rather than smug. Kylo imagines her face, all lit up. She's very pretty, for a scavenger.

( _Don't,_ Ben says. _You fell to the Dark. You can't have this._ )

 _I won't drink any more coffee, if you don't like it,_ he tells Rey. _I'll have tea, instead._

 

Rey doesn't comment on the tea. Hux files a complaint about an incident between two stormtroopers and a Knight of Ren - Kylo okays the proposed disciplinary action for the stormtroopers but vetoes the punishment for the Knight.

Hux gets invested in these things, and Kylo would like the distraction of getting into a good fight by way of making up for three weeks without anything interesting to do.

_Shouldn't you at least try to be fair?_

_Why?_ Kylo asks. _It's a waste of time._ The Knights are his. It makes them attractive targets for Hux during times when there are no Resistance fighters available.

 _You could find out the truth,_ Rey says.

 _It's not important._ Kylo pauses, considering. _I have something for you._

He senses surprise, joy, wariness.

_What is it?_

( _You are an idiot,_ Ben says. _She will never fall for it._ )

Kylo chews slowly. He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth himself, but he's been in Rey's head, even if she's blocked him out now. He's seen the way she's lived, the food she's eaten. If you can call it food.

Rey shivers. Kylo thinks she's closed her eyes. Through their bond, he feels pure pleasure.

( _It means nothing,_ Ben says. _You mean nothing to her. You're the enemy._ )

The cookie's gone in three bites. Kylo waits for a few seconds before he picks another one.

 _You are very dangerous,_ Rey says.

_I only want you to have all the things you never got to have before. All the things you deserve to have. What anyone deserves to have. How could that be dangerous?_

Rey stays silent. Kylo finishes the second cookie, taking his time. He feels her study the rest of the platter through his eyes, feels her try to work out what's in them, how they might taste.

_The one with chocolate chips._

_As you wish,_ Kylo says, and reaches for it.

(His mother has taught him how to be stubborn and how to manipulate people. His father has taught him nothing, other than to run away from your problems rather than stay and face them.)

(Snoke is the one who taught him obedience, and Kylo is nothing if not a studious pupil.)

 

 _Think of the good you could do,_ Rey says. _The good_ we _could do._

Kylo feels tired. He never sleeps well, less because of the nightmares and more because he knows Ben is always there, waiting for a chance to take over, to destroy everything Kylo has built for himself.

Rey could protect him, he thinks. She already is, by reminding him of who he is, what he has to lose, if he lets go. _We would be unbeatable together._ (This is how he knows Snoke isn't always there, because he can think these thoughts and not be punished for his arrogance, his rebellion.)

 _I'm not sure if I'd go that far._ Rey sounds amused, fond. _But yes. We'd be a good team._

 _Then join me,_ Ren says. _Together, we can tear down the First Order and reshape the galaxy into whatever we want it to be._

( _Too much, too fast._ Ben sounds smug, condescending. _You're so bad at this. Did you ever think this would work?_ )

 _If you came here, we could do that just as easily. And you could see your mother again,_ Rey says.

 _There wouldn't be any cookies._ Kylo doesn't know this for a fact. Still, he imagines the Resistance has enough trouble finding traders willing to sell them regular supplies. _Or chocolate. Or ice cream. Fried rice. Sushi. Yaro roots._

( _What an idiot you are,_ Ben says. _'Join the dark side, we've got cookies'? Who is ever going to fall for that? Do you think -_ )

 _All right,_ Rey says.

Ben is quiet.

Kylo feels a moment of irrational panic, as if he hasn't wished for Ben to get lost hundreds of times.

 _You won't regret this. I swear,_ he says. _Thank you._ He tries not to sound too much like he means it, like hearing her say it means nothing to him, rather than everything.

( _You're going to mess it up. Sooner or later. You always do,_ Ben says, and Kylo almost sighs in relief at this proof that Ben is still there, still disapproving. Still powerless.)

 _I'd better not,_ Rey says. _And you're welcome._


End file.
